SELF IMPROVEMENT

US credit rating downgraded to AA+
America's credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor'sbizWatch Standard & Poor's Latest from The Business Journals S&P lowers U.S. credit rating to AA+S&P cuts U.S. credit ratingU.S. credit rating cut by Standard and Poor's Follow this company Friday, taking the U.S. credit rating from AAA, the highest level, down a notch to AA+.

S&P said the debt and deficit reduction deal brokered by Congress and President Barack Obama this week failed to adequately address federal spending issues.

"The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamic," S&P said in a statement.

The credit rating agency didn't like the political wrangling in the debt ceiling debate, and faulted the federal government for not looking at enough spending cuts or tax increases to reduce U.S. deficits.

"We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process. We also believe that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration agreed to this week falls short of the amount that we believe is necessary to stabilize the general government debt burden by the middle of the decade," the S&P statement said.